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"Promise me Ned"


LordCommander_Samwell

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I think most people believe that this refers to keeping the true parentage of Jon Snow a secret or keeping him safe and raising him right, however I'm not entirely sold on this. I think it pretty obvious that Ned feels guilty about not keeping this "promise" as it keeps coming up, Why though ? Jon's parentage is still a secret, he raised him like his own son and kept him safe. I just don't think this has anything to do with Jon. I may be reading into this to much but I think its most likely it's a broken promise, what do you think this means ?


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I'm not actually convinced he even is lyanna's son, if he is I would be quite disappointed. The reason why I love asoiaf if the fact that you don't know what's going to happen and If grrm made jon lyanna's kid I feel it would smash the whole 'don't know what to expect with grrm'

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A game of thrones was originally supposed to be a trilogy, and the first book sets that up completely. I think there is a ton of evidence to support lyanna and Rhaegar being jons parents but just because there is doesn't make grrm 'predictable' because one of his storylines was easy to figure out. there's still a lot to go down with Jon's storyline and a lot of it will be crazy unexpected. As for promise me I can't see what else she could be asking of Ned besides protecting Jon or their family or something...

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A game of thrones was originally supposed to be a trilogy, and the first book sets that up completely. I think there is a ton of evidence to support lyanna and Rhaegar being jons parents but just because there is doesn't make grrm 'predictable' because one of his storylines was easy to figure out. there's still a lot to go down with Jon's storyline and a lot of it will be crazy unexpected. As for promise me I can't see what else she could be asking of Ned besides protecting Jon or their family or something...

I do think its pretty obvious that R+L=J, I'm not denying that, but I just don't think Ned being haunted by the promise really has anything to do with Jon Snow. I think it's maybe a promise he broke.

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I do think its pretty obvious that R+L=J, I'm not denying that, but I just don't think Ned being haunted by the promise really has anything to do with Jon Snow. I think it's maybe a promise he broke.

No, it’s a promise that it hurts him to keep. Continuously. It’s something that in its first appraisal runs counter to his most fundamental principles. However, his promise to his sister trumps that. Ned realizes that sometimes there is honor in acts that taken out of context would otherwise seem dishonorable.

“There are some things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”

“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn't want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ’shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”

“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was . . . not without honor.”

Ned was talking also about himself there, passing on painfully hard-earned wisdom to his daughter. Ned’s lie that Jon is his son was the right thing to do — and not without honor.

But to keep living that lie pains him. It does injury to his wife, to Jon, to himself. And so he continuously recalls why he is doing this: because he gave his word on his sister’s deathbed.

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No, it’s a promise that it hurts him to keep. Continuously. It’s something that in its first appraisal runs counter to his most fundamental principles. However, his promise to his sister trumps that. Ned realizes that sometimes there is honor in acts that taken out of context would otherwise seem dishonorable.

“There are some things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”

“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn't want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ’shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”

“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was . . . not without honor.”

Ned was talking also about himself there, passing on painfully hard-earned wisdom to his daughter. Ned’s lie that Jon is his son was the right thing to do — and not without honor.

But to keep living that lie pains him. It does injury to his wife, to Jon, to himself. And so he continuously recalls why he is doing this: because he gave his word on his sister’s deathbed.

That does actually make a lot of sense, I may have just been reading into it too much

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No, it’s a promise that it hurts him to keep. Continuously. It’s something that in its first appraisal runs counter to his most fundamental principles. However, his promise to his sister trumps that. Ned realizes that sometimes there is honor in acts that taken out of context would otherwise seem dishonorable.

“There are some things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”

“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn't want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ’shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”

“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was . . . not without honor.”

Ned was talking also about himself there, passing on painfully hard-earned wisdom to his daughter. Ned’s lie that Jon is his son was the right thing to do — and not without honor.

But to keep living that lie pains him. It does injury to his wife, to Jon, to himself. And so he continuously recalls why he is doing this: because he gave his word on his sister’s deathbed.

Meh... still say that Jon is Brandon's and Dayne's rape child. L+R =D

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Seriously,
Most of you guys sat down and worked out the timely but honestly, I feel that the whole "looked to stark" plot line under developed. It has to be there for a reason. When added to Ned's grief about failing to keep a promise (not living a lie) something didn't add up. Doing my first re-read so maybe I will see it differently in a few.

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First of all, Ned's recollections are while he's having fever-dreams. They're distorted like hallucinations or illusions, probably induced by copious amounts of milk of poppy.


The undeniable part is that Jon is of Ned's blood, being Lyanna's son. There is no getting away from that because Jon passes for Ned's bastard, as everyone thinks he is.


As for Jon's father, that's still up in the air having yet to be confirmed. The only living survivor from ToJ is Howland Reed.



"Promise me, Ned" - What could it cover?


(1) Not to tell Robert, because he'd slaughter the child.


(2) Not to tell any surviving Targaryens.


(3) Not to tell anyone from Dorne - repercussions from Elia's murder.


(4) Not to tell any Lannisters



Or.... just to take care of the boy as if he was Ned's own. It's probably more to do with this, and Ned wondering if he had done the right thing by not trusting Catelyn.



There is another possibility. This goes into a theory concerning Jon's whole arc in the grander scheme, which also includes Ned not standing in Jon's way should he decide to be at The Wall. 'Promise me, Ned' becomes a plea and is tied deeply with Jon's destiny. This isn't based upon prophecy, directly. Those become like being prodded in the right direction.


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Kevoncox, Brandon was dead for months before Jon was conceived.

Would that matter? We all know how evil Aerys was. When he captured Brandon he collected a sperm sample. Rhaegar was in on it too and took the sperm sample and forced it into Lyanna. Thus Aerys had his ultimate revenge by making the Stark siblings partake in Targaryen incest. Ned wanted to kill the abomination but Lyanna made him promise. So it causes him pain every time he looks at Jon knowing how thoroughly the Targaryens screwed over the Starks. Jon Arryn knew it all along: the seed is strong. /crackpot

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Assuming R+L=J (and I do of course), there is essentially no way that the promise(s) didn't at least include keeping Jon safe from the fate suffered by Aegon and Rhaenys. Perhaps he was also supposed to eventually tell Jon the truth of his parentage? Perhaps he lied and said that he'd help sit Jon on the iron throne? (No way he actually planned on doing this).



That the promise had to do with Jon is not in question.


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No, it’s a promise that it hurts him to keep. Continuously. It’s something that in its first appraisal runs counter to his most fundamental principles. However, his promise to his sister trumps that. Ned realizes that sometimes there is honor in acts that taken out of context would otherwise seem dishonorable.

“There are some things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”

“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn't want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ’shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”

“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was . . . not without honor.”

Ned was talking also about himself there, passing on painfully hard-earned wisdom to his daughter. Ned’s lie that Jon is his son was the right thing to do — and not without honor.

But to keep living that lie pains him. It does injury to his wife, to Jon, to himself. And so he continuously recalls why he is doing this: because he gave his word on his sister’s deathbed.

Could you enlarge it a bit more, I can't really see it.

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No, it’s a promise that it hurts him to keep. Continuously. It’s something that in its first appraisal runs counter to his most fundamental principles. However, his promise to his sister trumps that. Ned realizes that sometimes there is honor in acts that taken out of context would otherwise seem dishonorable.

“There are some things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn't want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ’shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was . . . not without honor.”

Ned was talking also about himself there, passing on painfully hard-earned wisdom to his daughter. Ned’s lie that Jon is his son was the right thing to do — and not without honor.

But to keep living that lie pains him. It does injury to his wife, to Jon, to himself. And so he continuously recalls why he is doing this: because he gave his word on his sister’s deathbed.

Wow, I think you nailed it

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I think most people believe that this refers to keeping the true parentage of Jon Snow a secret or keeping him safe and raising him right, however I'm not entirely sold on this. I think it pretty obvious that Ned feels guilty about not keeping this "promise" as it keeps coming up, Why though ? Jon's parentage is still a secret, he raised him like his own son and kept him safe. I just don't think this has anything to do with Jon. I may be reading into this to much but I think its most likely it's a broken promise, what do you think this means ?

It's a bit more complicated with the promises - after the visit to the brothel, Ned thinks about the promises, plural, that he made to Lyanna as she lay dying and the price he paid to keep them. Lyanna's death and promise me haunt him at nights but he only starts thinking about broken promises in the Black Cells and he very much wants to talk to Jon, so perhaps the broken part relates to the fact that he is currently unable to tell Jon something important, perhaps to reveal him his true parentage.

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Maybe the promise was to reveal to Jon from the very start that he was Rhaegar & Lyannas son. A promise that of course Ned could not really keep, as it would mean either death or exile for Jon.

Ned broke the promise for what he believed was the greater good & is haunted by his lie to his dying sister.

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